Kirby Triple Deluxe (for Nintendo 3DS)

Plenty of content and multiple hidden items to find. A variety of game modes.

Cons

Very easy to play through and beat.

Bottom Line

Kirby Triple Deluxe is an excellent side-scrolling platformer for the 3DS starring a smiling pink fluff ball who, given the chance, would consume you, your home, and your entire world in one breath. It's fun!

I have seen the face of destruction. An unknowable horror that consumes all. A soulless void that only knows hunger for all around it. It's called Kirby, and the more I see it the more I fear it. The latest harbinger of this eldritch destroyer is Kirby Triple Deluxe ($34.99) a Nintendo 3DSgame that's as cutesy and cuddly on the surface as every Kirby game before it, and every bit as horrifying underneath it. It's also extremely well designed, very easy to win, and packed full of content that almost, but doesn't quite, rival the Kirby Super Star compilations for the Super NES and Nintendo DS.

Kirby's AdventureKirby Triple Deluxe has several modes, but the main story is the centerpiece. You play Kirby, a pink snowball that can consume anything and assume its power. King Dedede, the dopey penguin regent of Dreamland, is kidnapped by an insect sorceress and Kirby has to climb a beanstalk powered by dreams, unlocking more and more worlds on it by collecting stones powered by the sun. It's that kind of game, that when summarized sounds like it consists of 80 percent sugar and 20 percent LSD.

Underneath the cutesy surreality is a very accessible platformer with a few simple puzzle elements for finding hidden items. Kirby can run, jump, float, and swallow enemies to get new powers. There are ten powers in total, but Kirby can only use one at a time. He can swing a sword, breathe fire, ring a bell, throw feathers, become a wheel, and more. The different power sets are surprisingly deep, and each power has several different skills that can be used with different button combinations. For example, if Kirby swallows an archer enemy and gets the arrow skill, he can launch a single arrow by tapping the attack button, charge up the arrow for a more powerful shot by holding the attack, button, and camouflage himself behind a cardboard disguise and shoot an arrow along the ground by holding down and tapping the attack button. This depth becomes particularly welcome in the Kirby Fighters mode, described below.

Kirby can also eat magical fruit which gives him the Hypernova power, letting him consume entire screens of obstacles. It is freaking terrifying. Several puzzles focus on Hypernova, requiring Kirby to move blocks around or open pipes by finding the right position to use his power. One such puzzle involves Kirby sucking everything in the background up through a pipe like a crazy straw. When I played, a single Waddle-dee enemy was sucked up. He clung to the rubble, desperate to survive, until he was pulled in with the rest of the background into the oblivion of the destroyer's hunger. It chilled me to the bone. Also, Kirby swallows giant enemy snakes that are easily 20 times larger than he is, and that's just visually horrifying. Like watching a mouse devour an anaconda with one bite. It is something that, in a world not driven by the darkest, unknowable forces beyond the minds of man, simply should not be.

Levels and MechanicsThe main adventure consists of six worlds with several stages in each. The stages themselves are fairly lengthy, broken up into multiple segments for different challenges and puzzles. The segmentation, and the fact that each new area serves as its own checkpoint if you die, makes the gameplay feel very accessible and unintimidating.

The side-scrolling action uses a 2.5D perspective, and makes excellent use of the Nintendo 3DS' 3D effect (though is just as playable with the 3D mode disabled or on a Nintendo 2DS). Nearly every level and every boss fight has some hazard or puzzle that uses the background or foreground, like snowballs and skiers that fly in from cliffs behind Kirby to attack him or a paintbrush-wielding witch who obscures parts of the battlefield with paint splotches on your screen. They're fun and immersive effects that make the levels seem more active and lively.

The levels themselves are easy to complete, but to progress in each world you need to collect a certain number of sun stones that are weight well-hidden or require beating a slight challenge. These individual challenges can occasionally get difficult, but the game in general is very easy. If you're hoping to find the incredibly tricky hidden coins or Luigi levels of New Super Mario Bros. U, you should look elsewhere. You can also search for and collect digital keychains of sprites from previous Kirby games, which you can then look at later in a gallery mode. If you don't want to search for keychains, you can also buy random ones using the 3DS Play Coins you collect by walking around with your 3DS.

Other Modes and ConclusionBesides the main adventure, Kirby Triple Deluxe has two additional game modes: Kirby Fighters and Dedede's Drum Dash. Kirby Fighters pits your Kirby, with any power you want, against other Kirbies with different powers. Since each power set has multiple moves, this becomes a fun, lightly engaging fighting game instead of just a glorified pseudo-boss rush. Dedede's Drum Dash is a rhythm game that involves hitting drums (and not getting hurt) in time with the soundtrack. These two modes are not particularly deep, but they're fun extras. There's also an additional surprise you can unlock when beating the game, that adds a bit more, very welcome content to the game.

Kirby Triple Deluxe is an excellent Kirby game, which isn't surprising for a series that has never really had a misstep (yes, I even enjoyed Kirby's Dream Course). It's very easy, even with the hidden items, so you shouldn't expect much challenge from the game, even if you go looking deep for it. It's a fun, fluffy little platformer that, despite the horrific implications of Kirby's existence, is worth a look for any fan of other Kirby games, or side-scrolling Mario games, or any other accessible, unintimidating run-and-jump titles.

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Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for more than six years, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. Since graduating from Syracuse University in 2005, Will has been an active technology journalist both online and in print. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PCMag.com labs, focusing on Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, and other home theater equipment.
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